Barack Obama
Michele Bachmann
Herman Cain
Newt Gingrich
Jon Huntsman
Ron Paul
Rick Perry
Mitt Romney
Rick Santorum
In his second inaugural address, President Barack Obama alluded to the end of the nation's post-9/11 wars, describing his vision of a world where "enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war." Listening to the debate last week on whether Congress should expand its previous guidelines for using military force to combat terrorism, it was easy to wonder whether that vision would ever become a reality. Read More »
I've finished my holiday shopping (at last), which means it's time for another round of hypothetical gift-giving for some important world leaders and political figures. If it were in my power, here's what I'd be sending some notables this year. Read More »
The White House vowed to retaliate with “appropriate action” to North Korea’s launch of an object into space on Tuesday, claiming the pariah dictatorship deliberately violated United Nations agreements against ballistic missile technology and threatened Asian security. “The international community must work in a concerted fashion to send North Korea a clear message that its violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions have consequences,” said National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor, in a statement. The U.S. military’s North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tracked the launch, which North Korea claimed was to put a satellite into orbit. In a rare statement from NORAD, delivered through the Pentagon, the command said the missile flew southward, dropping two boosters stages along the way. Japanese news said the missile flew over Okinawa. “Initial indications are that the missile deployed an object that appeared to achieve orbit. At no time was the missile or the resultant debris a threat to North America,” said the command. That threat is Washington’s chief concern. North Korea, a nuclear state, does not have a long-range ballistic missile capable of reaching the continental United States, but during a visit through China in 2011, Defense Secretary Robert Gates predicted Pyongyang was within five-years of achieving that technology. Pyongyang reportedly claimed it launched a weather satellite. Vietor on Tuesday said, “North Korea’s launch today -- using ballistic missile technology despite express prohibitions by United Nations Security Council resolutions -- is a highly provocative act that threatens regional security, directly violates United Nations Security Council resolutions 1718 and 1874, contravenes North Korea’s international obligations, and undermines the global non-proliferation regime.” Vietor said the White House would quickly pursue talks with Six-Party members and the United Nations Security Council to determine what action to take in response to the launch. “Devoting scarce resources to the development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons has not brought it security and acceptance by the international community—and never will.” Read More »
I spent a lot of time recently reading poems from World War I, much of it new to me. Rather than discuss them all at once, I am going to feature one poem or even one line a day. Read More »
After a presidential election that Nate Silver and a smattering of other statistical modelers forecast with remarkable accuracy, quantitative enthusiasts -- quants -- are talking some hard-earned smack. "This is about the triumph of machines and software over gut instinct," Dan Lyons extolled at the tech blog ReadWrite. "The age of voodoo is over. The era of talking about something as a 'dark art' is done. In a world with big computers and big data, there are no dark arts." Read More »
As chairman of the organizing committee of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, Romney was credited with financially rescuing the scandal-tarnished event and restoring -- for a time -- the reputation of the International Olympic Committee. He lived abroad as a Mormon missionary in France while in college, and like Barack Obama before him, Romney has made a few campaign stops in Europe this time around.
As one might expect from the primary front-runner and favorite for the nomination, Romney has stayed clear of controversial positions and doesn't deviate much from the Republican Party's standard talking points. He's in favor of robust defense spending, strong ties with Israel, bulking up border security, and getting tough with China.
As a former governor, Romney has virtually no official experience implementing foreign policy, but having gone through the primary process in 2008, he may be more prepared to handle tough national security questions.
Romney has lined up a team of GOP national security heavyweights, including former CIA Director Michael Hayden, former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, former Senators Jim Talent and Norm Coleman, and author Robert Kagan. Mideast advisor Walid Phares has proved a somewhat controversial pick, due to his past association with Christian militia groups during the Lebanese Civil War.
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